By Dietrich Knauth
(Reuters) -Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and AbbVie’s Allergan unit reached a settlement worth $161.5 million to resolve claims the companies fueled an opioid epidemic in West Virginia, state attorney general Patrick Morrisey said Wednesday.
The agreement is the largest state-negotiated settlement in West Virginia history, and consists of $134 million in cash plus the contribution of drugs used to treat opioid overdoses, Morrisey said.
“This is a great day for West Virginia,” Morrisey said at a press conference.
The settlement ended a trial that had been proceeding for two months in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
The companies did not admit wrongdoing in making the settlement.
Teva will pay $83 million in cash, as well as a 10-year supply of Narcan, a drug used to stop opioid overdoses, which the state valued at $27 million.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
